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IPFS News Link • Darpa

Parasailing payload extends sensor range of DARPA's autonomous boat

• newatlas.com by Scott Collie

Towed behind the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), TALONS extends the range of radar and sensors by elevating them up to 1,500 ft (457 m) above the water.

During its 90 minute test, the TALONS sensor array started off in the nest on the back of the ACTUV boat, before deploying its parachute and rising to 1,000 ft (305 m) above sea level. Once it reached that altitude, it put its onboard sensors through a set of tests, before automatically reeling itself back into the back of the boat.

Compared to regular radar units, which are usually mounted on a crows nest sitting 150 or 200 ft (46 or 61 m) above the waterline, the parasailing sensor array managed a 500 percent increase in range. The team also attached a commercial omnidirectional radio transmitter to the array, and noted its range was more than three-times better at 1,000 ft than it was at sea level.


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